The invention relates to a centrifugal pendulum device having a pendulum mass carrier, which is rotatable about a rotation axis, and at least one pendulum mass, which is supported on the pendulum mass carrier for movement along a track between two end stops which are spaced from one another in circumferential direction in relation to the rotation axis. The invention further relates to a drive train of a motor vehicle.
Such a centrifugal pendulum device is used, for example, in the drive train of the motor vehicle in order to suppress, at least in part, preferably completely, torsional vibrations which are caused by a drive unit of the drive train, in particular an internal combustion engine. The centrifugal pendulum device thus serves as vibration damper. Unlike other vibration dampers, it can be tailored to a specific order over a wide rotation speed range. The basic principle is hereby the use of the centrifugal force, which acts in the presence of a certain rotation speed of the pendulum mass carrier about the rotation axis upon the pendulum mass, as restoring force upon the vibration mechanism, i.e., in particular on the pendulum mass. The centrifugal force causes, for example, a shift of the pendulum mass in relation to the pendulum mass carrier along the track or causes a force acting in circumferential direction. In this way the movement of the pendulum mass is influenced by a swing angle of the centrifugal pendulum device.
At low rotation speeds of the pendulum mass carrier, the stabilizing centrifugal force acting on the pendulum mass is so low that the pendulum mass is able to hit back and forth between the end stops. This usually generates undesirable noise. In addition, when accordingly arranging the centrifugal pendulum device, the pendulum mass is influenced by gravity. For example, this impact of gravity causes the pendulum mass to plunge from one of the end stops to the opposite one of the end stops upon each rotation of the pendulum mass carrier. As a result, noises caused by the thus encountered impact upon the end stop can have an annoying effect and therefore are invariably undesirable. To address this problem, centrifugal pendulum devices oftentimes have damping elements of elastic material, which are arranged on the end stops to cushion the impact of the pendulum mass.